Whew – reality testing dreams, pretty wild when they truly start to form from the aether, slowly taking shape, starting to become something tangible. The moment in which they slip from concept to a working prototype, something that can actually be experienced rather than only imagined.
Today I had a couple of those moments, two very different, yet oddly symmetrical, dreams starting to transition from a mental concept to a tangible something to share. In both cases the sharing of the concept went better than expected, great feedback, a quick understanding of what it was and why it fills a gap that is present. One conversation specifically went down a very interesting path prior to sharing the idea, once that had concluded it folded perfectly and accidentally right into proving the effectiveness and “why” behind the dream itself!
So much more work ahead on both. One will take center stage shortly as I build up a critical mass towards it over the next few months, the other as a side project which appear when it’s ready – yet will continue to grow through the first project’s progress as well as through more experience of my professional life through that lens. These two fit so well together and have helped each other grow throughout their progression.
Very exciting day today, one that makes me want to put more focus into both, but I am also well aware of the season of life I am in, the work I need to do to pay for life as I grow towards these other two dreams. As the tedium and stress of the day job ebbs and flows I’ve got these two dreams continuing to build, allowing me to see ways to turn my current experiences into more than an income or a career, but an additional fuel that helps me narrow the considerable gap between who I am today and who I am called to be.
Many days this task is to help focus my brain on what’s been most meaningful throughout the day. The appreciation I have for certain actions, people, things, happenings, and whatnot. Remember that this can also go in the reverse, helping to frame the frustration and stress of the day into a reason to be thankful. This blog is not for the result in of itself, rather, it is a tool to help me work to close the gap between where I am and where I am meant to grow. Reflection, direction, action, motivation – a tool to be used as needed based on the day.
Appreciation:
Interesting day for a handful of reasons – starting off with a super tight and sore back to a stressful work day to a transition from a difficult conversation to a productive one. Once home it was a dinner with Becky, slow stretching to get my back moving, a call with my brother to joke and laugh, and then some quiet time to blog as I heat my back.
The overall “joy” score of my day was very meh to be sure (likely a -1) and I really struggled to find a reason to blog tonight. There were so many moments to be grateful for individually, but the overall feel of the day was a bummer all around. By leveraging this habit of blogging every single day of why I’m grateful I was able to get my brain turned back around to the positives and to remember to focus more energy there. For sure, the day was still a bummer, but one I can struggle through as I know there are always things I can learn from these types of days, so long as I remember to be grateful for them.
Today that meant being grateful for the acts of kindness, for the opportunity to help others, for the time with Becky and the meal she made, for the time with my brother as we laughed. For the time I spent texting family for various reasons as we all laughed. For this moment of quiet respite to gather my thoughts and choose the better attitude… I am grateful.
Presence:
Taking a quiet moment to myself to get all the junk out of my head. Pressing the pause button on the stress, opening my mind to see the bigger picture. Enjoying the view of the leaves dancing in the wind outside the window, watching the ground squirrel scampering through the park across the street. Allowing my mind to clear. Calm.
Funny how when pausing to consider how we can help someone else through a challenge we find a similar way that we could help ourselves through challenges we are also facing. Quite often this can quickly turn into a combination of a mirror AND window exercise – looking through to see how to handle a difficult situation AND seeing the sometimes ugly reflection of ourselves creating the same challenge for others that we ourselves are attempting to work through. As I pulled up this quote for someone this morning I caught myself on both sides of the glass – seeing both how I could have handled a situation differently had I followed the advice AND how I was simultaneously acting in poor judgement which also caused the same hardship to others who could have used the advice.
One friend, one piece of advice, two ways of seeing myself making poor decisions in the past, and two ways of seeing myself taking better action in the future. Cheers to the beauty of taking the third person perspective to help us heal what is broken within ourselves.
To feel affection for people even when they make mistakes is uniquely human. You can do it, if you simply recognize: that they’re human too, that they act out of ignorance, against their will, and that you’ll both be dead before long. And, above all, that they haven’t really hurt you. They haven’t diminished your ability to choose.
Marcus Aurelius Meditations: A New Translation (Modern Library)
Appreciation:
There certainly are interesting themes I am starting to see within the twenty five books I’ve chosen to read three times each this year. One theme which has been resonating very clearly recently is the concept of being truly human. Not putting up a false front, owning what it means to be human in all of its trappings – good, bad, uplifting, disappointing, beautiful, and ugly. Being okay with being human, being less than perfect, being fallible, making mistakes, allowing ego to overcome the betterment of the community and so on.
This morning it really hit me as I was moved to emotion by this quote from Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse-Five:
“And Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. So she was turned into a pillar of salt. People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore.”
Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five
Presence:
Pausing to take a moment to appreciate the positive impact someone makes in our lives. Such a simple action, pause, write out our thoughts, share them with the person, yet so easy to say “I’ll do that later” only to have “later” slowly transition into “never.” In those moments of focus, of thinking about that person and the positive impact they have had on us, our souls are full and we are completely present in the task of appreciating them. Very grateful for taking the time to do just that this evening!
This may seem like a wild one, but I am very grateful for some of the crazy data tracking I’ve been doing which wasn’t technically intentional but has turned into a wildly insightful set of datapoints!
I’ve been blogging daily since September 29, 2015 about at least one thing I am grateful for. The intent was to strengthen my my appreciation muscles to live more joyfully. Throughout the years it’s transformed int a time capsule of my thoughts, emotions, observations, and memories. Thanks to the power of data aggregation I’ve got a plethora of data to analyze, over 3,800 posts encompassing 1.2 MILLION words I’ve typed over that time period.
Additionally, I’ve been tracking each book I’ve read in order going back to January of 2022. By following this trail of bread crumbs I’m able to see when certain ideas started to take hold as well as the impact that they made via my blog posts from that time. Awareness by Anthony de Mello was by far and away the front runner for me in that time period – both in total reads and in mentions in blog posts.
Last, in early 2024 I started a daily scorecard for myself on what I have found to be the most important measurements and daily questions to ask myself. While it didn’t maintain as a habit in 2024 it was something I did on over 85% of the days of 2025 and have been over 95% of the days so far in 2026. These points add a different level of depth, diving into everything from minutes of exercise to daily joy (-2 to +2), and so many more nuggets.
As I start to put all of these pieces together I’m getting a more and more clear view into who I am, what makes me tick, and how I’ve grown over the past decade. Just short moments of time to pause and blog, to keep score, to read a little – but so much wisdom to glean from those nuggets!
More to follow for sure, but today I’m grateful for realizing just how much data I’ve compiled for myself to review in order to live a more fulfilling live. Pretty wild!
Only two and a half weeks into the year and I’m already seeing huge benefits to my 2026 plan. My actions have shifted, my thoughts have shifted, my intentions have shifted. Nothing crazy, no wild 180 degree change or anything, just incremental growth, a focus on one percent better each day.
While digging a little deeper into The Alchemist this morning I came across this gem:
“It’s a book that says the same thing almost all the other books in the world say,” continued the old man. “It describes people’s inability to choose their own Personal Legends. And it ends up saying that everyone believes the world’s greatest lie.”
“What’s the world’s greatest lie?” the boy asked, completely surprised.
“It’s this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie.”
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
Here’s to remembering that we always have a choice to make, action we can take of our own volition – even if, or especially if – it is only within our own mind and heart.
Appreciation:
Dominic headed back up to college today, my initial emotion was sadness at his leaving. I had to pause, catch, and redirect myself – how grateful I was for the time we had together this past few weeks! It was wonderful having him home throughout these past weeks, we got so much bonus time with him. I’m very thankful for all of the experiences he has been having at school and for the future he is building for himself, I’m also more and more grateful for the relationship we built while he lived at home – it keeps us close even when the distance is far. So appreciative for the time we’ve had with Dominic, for the relationship we’ve built with him, and for the fact that I love him so much I always feel a bit of sadness when he leaves.
Presence:
Working through difficult topics as a family today, figuring out college tuition budgeting now that Gavin’s selected where he’s going to school. We all had to pause, get all the details on a spreadsheet, figure things out, and then spend time showing how and why each potential level to pull is important. For sure, showing Gavin the benefits of paying more sooner on his after school monthly loan payments, working through the reasons behind interest rates, and showing how pulling money from one location versus another leads to a larger deficit in the future was not my idea of Sunday family fun, BUT it was exactly what we all needed to do in order to see a more clear path of what we need to work through. Not the most exciting family time, but family time that was very well spent and led to growth for Gavin.
This quote by Paulo Celho has now appeared in a few different books I’ve read. Each time I see it I can’t help but recognize the simplicity and honesty of it. So often we use a journey or a challenge to grow into something, to become a different someone. Sometimes maybe we need to strip away all of the excess to see who we really are under all the false pretenses and identities we’ve wrapped around ourselves – all in an effort to see who we were before we allowed the world and ourselves to lead us astray.
Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.
Paulo Coelho
Appreciation:
Another day in which I’m reminded of the power of allowing people to work from their strengths. Line them up in the right situation, allow them to utilize their own personal gifts and strengths, and watch all the greatness they create. Many opportunities to observe just that today in a few different directions.
Why is it that ego causes me to feel compelled to attempt to be good at everything, to be able to do everything, only to fail as I push too hard outside of my strengths and don’t allow others to help? When I remember to create space for others, to observe them working within their strengths in ways I could ever do as well or as naturally or with as much natural joy and energy – my heart is more full of joy, we are all more successful, and the world is a better place. Ego is so lame!
Presence:
The full moon lit up the sky this morning while Becky and I ran in the cool air. As I drove to Winona the moon slowly drifted down behind the bluffs in a spectacular moonset. On my drive home the moon was starting to float above the bluffs as it rose into the sky, dragging the dark blue sky that followed the purple and pink remnants of the sunset.
A day bookmarked by the moon in all it’s beauty, a day full of present moments.
We never know the struggles others are facing. We will never understand their perspective. We will never truly grasp their entire backstory. We are human, known truly to no one, not even ourselves.
Rather than judging each other we should be focused on loving each other. Rather than wanting what others have we should be appreciative for all we have. How much more simple would life be if we were but thankful for this present moment, this breath? In that presence and contentedness there is no room for envy, fear, or anger, only love and appreciation.
Pause, breathe, be thankful for the breath we have, for the moment we are in, for all the beauty surrounding us. Don’t want, instead be.
Appreciation:
I’ve been on a pretty epic hot streak of reading recently! After a book on Roman history that was a pretty big miss I’ve been knocking out one great book after another and it’s been great!
The most recent book I’ve started is The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen, a gem written in 1978 of an expedition to Nepal. The author writes in a flowingly epic style, just enough detail to fully engage the mind’s eye without becoming tedious. The focus on what he sees and learns in chunks of smaller stories within the journey has caught my full attention.
Once in a while there is a book that I really just don’t enjoy. More often there are books I decide I would prefer to not read again. This recent streak has been full of books I’ll be re-reading at least one or two more times each!
Presence:
Sitting in the living room, having random conversations in spurts with Becky and Gavin as we each do our thing – Becky reading, Gavin doing homework, and me blogging. Interspersed in the moments of quiet focus were jokes, comments, and conversations. A perfectly chill way to spend time while also being focused on what we each needed in the moment.
Appreciation was the main theme of toady’s sermon at church and it was a winner! Father John shared examples of how this past week had been a series of struggles, unexpected obstacles in what was planned to be a relatively relaxed week. Throughout those challenges he did as much as could, controlled as much as he could, and then finally have to give in and allow space for help. While he focused on that being the space in which God helped, I saw it slightly differently.
After he tried to do something on his own it was only after he failed when he asked for help. When the help was provided he found gratitude in that space, an appreciation for the help. How true this is in so many ways! What if we all learned to accept help sooner in order to work through a difficulty?
Another note that caught my attention and resonated with the concepts fo so many of the books and stories I’ve read lately – we grow most and have the most to be thankful for when struggle, when we face adversity. That is when we are pushed to grow, to receive help, to see we are not alone, and to be grateful.
So much to take away from this one, I’m glad it is recorded so I can go back and re-listen and absorb it more deeply.
Appreciation:
This afternoon I skipped the Packer game and focused on working on my dream list. Rather than taking in a game I realized my time would be better spent ensuring I was working on the right goals for the upcoming years. It started off a bit uncomfortable, I struggled to get the list up and running. With each successive dream recorded I gained momentum. The sunlight on my face while sitting on the deck, the music playing quietly in the background, and the fresh air provided the perfect environment to stay focused on shaping my future.
While I typically wait until the beginning of the year to reset my dream list I realized last year that there was a benefit to getting this rolling early as I start my annual planning process for 2026. Crazy to think that 2026 is only two and a half months away! If I want to live into my best life I need to remember to put the focus on intentionality and planning. Glad I did both this afternoon!
Presence:
While Becky and I had our mini-date on Friday and Saturday I had a nice pocket of one on one time with Gavin today. Nothing crazy, eating lunch together while watching football. Joking around and playing some cards. No real deep conversation, just enjoying each others company.
There are not too many of these times left, I remember how quickly Dominic’s senior year flew by. The inertia of time somehow continued to increase throughout that school year and was gone before I knew it. To have the opportunity share a pocket of time with Gavin like this was sublime!
Quite often we talk about learning from our heroes, wanting to exhibit their courage, strength, wisdom and whatnot. Just as often we can learn from everyone – including our heroes – on how we would prefer not to act, on how not to treat others, and on how to let our personal fears negatively impact our ability to love others.
We can learn from both halves, we each are both halves. Rather idolizing our heroes, remember to learn from all of our human failings. We all fail, we all struggle, we all act without love and kindness.
When we see that may ew also remember not to return their actions with similar actions of our own. Learn from the experience they’ve given, act as you’d hoped they would have.
Appreciation:
Two parter for today as there are a couple of points to cover in my blog to help remind “Future Mike” of why I was grateful today.
First off, I am most grateful to those who have reached out to regarding the impact of the government shutdown. Even a short message, text, or quick phone call helps others see that they are not alone. Those acts of kindness may seem so tiny to the person providing them, but they can make a huge positive impact on the person who really needs to hear them at the right moment.
Second, I appreciate my reminder to give myself grace, to remember the intent behind the goal, and to take care of myself from a mental standpoint. With so much going on my mind was racing as I listened to my audiobook on my drive north this morning. I quickly became frustrated with my inability to focus on the book which in turn added more stress which added more things for me to get frustrated about. After a quick facepalm I shut off the book, turned on some music, and sang and relaxed while I drove. I then turned everything off and thought through the challenges and created my action plans. Finally, I went back to reading and was able to stay completely present. Slow down Kreiling!
Presence:
Sitting on the deck with Becky on an unusually warm October evening, relaxing, reading my beloved copy of Fahrenheit 451 as the sun goes down. Hearing the sounds of nature, taking in the fresh air, simultaneously completely absorbed in the exquisite writings of Ray Bradbury. Each page causes me to pause for a moment to step back to the ledge upon which I see across into reality and down into the story, the horizon a mixing of the two realities. I melt into both.
Sometimes life can be rough, dishing out things we really would prefer not to have to deal with. We don’t have a choice in these events that happen, but we do have the choice of how we will respond to them. Will we face them with a positive attitude or will we let them cause negativity?
As I drove home tonight I was very frustrated, the government shutdown is particularly maddening – for a variety of reasons. I caught myself getting worked into such a lather that I couldn’t focus on my audiobook. As I sat in anger and silence I realized that I was missing something. I am not in control of what is happening, but I can control how I respond to it. My response was lackluster, if only I had already started working on a way to get my mindset in the right place 😉
With that stroke of insight I literally chuckled to myself and decided it was time for me to hone my own practice. The following is where that took me. Fun fact, it just follows the same blog order I do each day.
Growth (What can I learn from this?):
This is an opportunity to control my emotions, to choose intentionality over emotion. Rather than responding with worry to what I cannot control why not take a moment to appreciate how I can grow through this. This is a chance for me to learn to relinquish control, to accept what is happening and then choose how to respond correctly. Rather than being angry how can I channel this into growth? I can learn to better control my emotions, I can learn to accept reality, I can learn to find ways to best make an argument, I can learn how to better help others see the error of certain actions, I can help people see how fear leads to hate and how love is the real answer (which means accepting others – all others). I can pause and consider how so many of our greatest humans heave thought – how would Jesus, Buddha, the Dalai Lama, and Muhammad handle this situation? What would their advice be?
This is a unique opportunity to get outside of myself, consider the wider perspective, and then determine how to act accordingly. This is an opportunity grow into the person I should be, to close the gap a little.
Appreciation (How can I be thankful, even in this challenge?):
If I can find a way to grow through this I’ve already started to find a way I can appreciate this moment. I am certainly not grateful that this bad thing has happened, but I can be thankful for an opportunity to learn and grow. I can pause and think about all of the past difficult times I’ve gone through in my life and see how each of those – even though they’ve hurt in the moment – have led to some of the greatest moments of growth in my life.
Difficult things suck, no question, but they are the furnaces our souls are forged within. This challenge is an opportunity to grow into a better version of me, an opportunity to work through the discomfort to see what I am truly made of. I can be grateful for anything, including and especially this frustration.
Presence (How can I stay focused in the moment, even when it is difficult?):
It would be so easy to gloss over this, to say it really isn’t so bad. I could numb myself with distractions and just not think about it. I could choose toxic optimism (which is really a thing) and delude myself into thinking this is not a big deal. All of that would be so easy, but it would be a complete waste of an opportunity.
If I know I can learn from this, if I know I can grow through this, if I know I can be thankful even in this challenge, I can be present in the moment. I can soak in all of the anger, pain, hurt, frustration, all of it, and then transform it into something truly beautiful, into growth, into a display of love over hate. I can only really grow in this moment if I am present in it, an active and intentional participant. If I am strong, I stay intentionally focused, and I choose to be completely present it will hurt, for sure, but that is where I know I will actually grow. In that pain I will find growth, I will find appreciation, but only if I am present in it.
And that was how I worked myself through this. I took it apart, I worked through the circle of Growth to Appreciation to Presence and back around. By the time I got home I was still very frustrated, but I was able to find joy in moments of growth, in moments of appreciation, and in the present moment.
In moments of frustration we all have a choice to make. Choose to mind the GAP, choose Growth, Appreciation, and Presence. Choose joy and love.
Thankful for Forty 